April 15– LD 15, Day 7: Glorying in the Cross

Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

Notice again the personal approach of the catechism. “I am assured.” The more we reflect on the suffering of Christ, the more personal and intimate that assurance becomes. My sin brought Christ to the cross. But there is a blessing for me as well.  He went to the cross for me! That is the blessed assurance of the gospel. God promises that the cross is not just for others, but it is for me personally.

I was baptized with Christ. I was crucified with Christ. My old man of sin was nailed to the cross when Christ was nailed to that tree.  On Christ alone depends my assurance. Not on myself, my faith, my prayers or my obedience, but on His perfect work on the cross.

How understandable that this truth brought Paul to make the confession he did.  So often we don’t even come close to glorying in the cross. We hear about Christ through the preaching. We read about His work in the Bible. But we return to our daily ways.    A glorying and rejoicing people are not hesitant to talk with others about their only comfort. A glorying and rejoicing Christian knows what it is to live close to God and to rely on Him for everything.

Rejoice and give thanks today for the victory that is yours in Christ! There is nothing worth glorying in but the cross of Christ.